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Stephenson: NSFG data show group of Americans with highest incidence of HIV among the least likely to get tested
January 25, 2018
A new report by the CDC using NSFG data examines the primary reasons reported by Americans age 15-44 for never being tested for HIV (2011–2015). The most common reason given by respondents is their belief that they are “unlikely to have been exposed to HIV.” But PSC’s Rob Stephenson notes that “the greatest increase in HIV incidence is actually among young men who have sex with men in the 13 to 24 age group. This paper confirms that this is the group among the least likely to test for HIV.” He suggests that the downward trend in HIV testing among young Americans could be countered by making the test “part of your routine health check, and if you have certain risks then you should do it more often.”